£50m extra to keep Wales ahead in recycling

Welsh environment minister Hannah Blythyn has earmarked £50m in capital funding over three years to support recycling service changes and infrastructure.

Blythyn (pictured) said local authorities’ recycling grants would not be cut to fund other council services, and an extra £15.5m would go to Vale of Glamorgan, Pembrokeshire and Denbighshire councils to improve collections.

A new £500,000 behaviour change and enforcement campaign will be used to raise public awareness of recycling, run in partnership with local authorities and WRAP.

New regulations are planned that will require businesses to separate their waste in the way households do.

Blythyn said: “Recycling is a Welsh success story and something we should be proud of. But we want to do more. Improving recycling rates again will require further support and more concerted and intensive interventions.”

The Welsh Government said latest figures showed the country’s municipal recycling rate at 63% against a national target of 58%, putting it first in the UK and third in the world for household recycling.

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Industry body the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) said Defra’s consultations on the resources and waste strategy offer the chance to “turbo-boost the nation’s recycling performance”.

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